The Soundtrack

On that early Saturday morning, I was still in bed when I grabbed the phone to check the time. 5:12 AM. Yes, it's still early. And I was still very sleepy. But I know by the time I put my phone down, I will drift off again; then I will be late at work by the time I wake up again. So, I logged on and checked what’s going on in the world while I was dreaming.

On Facebook, I saw this posted video of the song When you believe with a thumbnail of Mariah Carey’s picture and a caption saying “She’s too young to die.” Interesting and moving but not enough to wake me up. I scrolled for more and found a friend’s post saying “Rest in peace, my favorite singer of I Will Always Love You. Because of you, I’m still trying to reach the high notes unsuccessfully.” Then, I suddenly got on my feet and thought of who really died. That one really woke up my senses.

So, it’s Whitney. That’s sad. How come they’re taking away such good talents?

Well, Whitney has been a great companion. To me. Uh-huh, she was there during my first days in the kingdom. When there were only two TV channels – Arabic and French – and one FM radio station which I wasn’t aware of at that time. I could still remember my eagerness to buy the soundtrack album of The Bodyguard which (again, at that time) was hard to find since there were no malls back in 1993. Oh well, there was this one place, Euromarche, we used to think of as a mall because it was the only huge place that has almost everything people need. That’s where I bought the cassette tape and I somberly listened to her every song every day of my first month in Riyadh. The soundtrack was a relief.

I was only 13 then. Just imagine going to new place, new culture, no friends, nothing to do but bum around. We didn’t even have a land phone back then. Anyhow, there was no one to talk to. I was a complete stranger but Whitney was with me. And Francis Magalona, too. Oh shucks! They’re both gone. Oh my. I was about to add another name but I’d rather let the guy live his life. LOL.

Well, she’s at somewhere else; so, we just let her at peace.

Thank you, Whitney, for keeping me company. You can't just be forgotten.